UCAC education union has discovered that the Welsh Government has defined a ‘small school’ as “a school that contains fewer than 91 registered pupils” without any consultation.
The definition is significant because it means that Local Authorities can federate ‘small’ schools without consulting with pupils, parents, staff or organisations that represent staff.
Rebecca Williams, UCAC’s Policy Officer said “The figure of 91 pupils is totally unsuitable in a Welsh context. We know, for example, that 70% of Ceredigion’s primary schools, and 62% of Gwynedd’s primary schools fall into this new category of ‘small school’.
“We do not oppose federating schools at all – in fact there are substantial benefits to such arrangements. However we are concerned that this new definition will leave the pupils, parents and staff of a significant proportion of schools in Wales without a voice in the process.“
